Fate
by cherylwoo
Summary: It was a funny thing called fate that brought Arthur and Yao together. AU. England/China, slight one-sided China/Japan, and brief mentions of Japan/Taiwan, Austria/Hungary, Spain/Belgium, Denmark/Norway.
1. Meeting you was by chance

A/N – An AU with Yao and Arthur meeting as little kids and growing up together. I don't know – I thought writing them growing up together would be cute, sue me.

_**Meeting you was by chance**_

"Hello!" a little boy called in front of a house with a white gate. "Hello!" he called again.

A little while later, a tiny head peeked out of the front door of the house. It belonged to another little person with golden eyes and slightly long dark-brown hair, which was tied back into a small ponytail. The individual didn't say anything, and just stared at the former little boy.

"Hello!" the little boy greeted. "I er… I kicked my football too high and it landed in your garden. Could I please have it back?"

The dark-haired person stared at the little boy for a while. Wordlessly, the person stepped outside and headed away.

The little boy frowned. He was slightly annoyed. Was that person deliberately ignoring him? He had asked nicely, hadn't he? What a jerk!

But no sooner had that thought left his mind, the golden-eyed individual re-appeared, clutching a football. They headed to the front gate towards the little boy.

"It's quite a big ball, isn't it, aru?"

The little boy broke into a grin. "It belongs to my older brother!" he exclaimed. "He lent it to me. You want to play with me?"

The dark-haired person's eyes lit up. "Can I?" he asked excitedly.

"Of course!"

"Okay! Let me go tell my mom where I'm going!" With that, the shorter individual placed the football on the ground and ran back to the front door. They shouted something to their mother. A woman's voice replied, and then the little person ran back towards the little boy, opening the gate and slipping out.

"What's your name?" the little boy asked as they headed off together.

"Yao! I'm five years old!"

"I'm Arthur Kirkland!" the little boy greeted. "I'm five too!"

Yao grinned and shook Arthur's hand. It was the beginning of a friendship.

* * *

Arthur and Yao would meet daily to play together. Commuting to and fro their homes was not a difficult task – they even lived within the same row of houses – their houses were a mere five doors apart. They were practically neighbours.

However, one day, Yao didn't come out to meet Arthur to play.

Arthur assumed Yao must have forgotten. So, Arthur rapped on the gate of Yao's house.

A beautiful woman came out to the gate. She was Yao's mother. "Oh, it's the little boy my Yao-Yao always plays with!" she exclaimed. "Arthur, or something like that?"

Arthur nodded and put on his most angelic expression.

"I'm sorry, but Yao can't go out to play," the woman told Arthur apologetically. "He's got the chicken pox. If he goes out, then all the kids are going to catch it as well."

Arthur smile turned into a sulk. He looked like a hungry puppy that had been denied food.

"He'll be fully recovered in two weeks, so he can play with you then! You can wait that long, right?"

Arthur nodded before trudging home.

Arthur stopped in front of his gate, deep in thought. Chicken pox, huh? That sounded familiar. He was sure he had caught it from one of his older brothers when he was very young. He also vaguely recalled his father saying that now no one in the Kirkland household had to worry about getting the pox since they'd all already been taken ill by the sickness. Being the bright child that he was, Arthur put two and two together – he concluded that once a person had the chicken pox, he wouldn't get it again. So, it should be safe for him to see Yao!

So Arthur turned around and headed back to Yao's home. He rapped on the gate again.

When Yao's mother appeared through the door, Arthur didn't let her speak. He launched into the mini speech he had prepared. "Hi Auntie! I know you said that Yao has the chicken pox, but I've already had it, and my daddy said that if you have already had it, then you won't have it again! So can I please please please see Yao?"

Eventually, Yao's mother agreed to let Arthur see Yao. For one, she couldn't resist Arthur's adorable pleading face. For another, Arthur seemed really concerned about her son, and who was she to deny her son having a friend over? After all, Yao had been complaining on how bored he was getting, so having Arthur over would probably cheer him up.

Yao's mother took Arthur upstairs to Yao's room, where her son was in bed, holding his toy aeroplane and looking at it boredly. "Yao dear, someone's here to see you," she sang.

Yao regarded his mother with a disgruntled expression. "What is it, ma? I thought you said I can't see anyone."

"I was just afraid that you'd spread your chicken pox to all the kids in the neighbourhood," the woman told her son. "But this little boy here says he's already had it, and he really wants to see you."

Arthur then appeared from behind Yao's mother. "Hi," he said, waving his hand at Yao shyly.

"Arthur, aru!" Yao exclaimed happily.

"I was worried because you didn't meet me today," Arthur said.

Yao looked towards his mother to thank her for bringing the Caucasian boy, but she had left to give them some privacy.

"I wanted to, but my mom wouldn't let me," lamented Yao.

"So… how are you?" Arthur asked the Asian boy, as he settled himself on the edge of Yao's bed.

* * *

A few weeks after Yao had recovered from his chicken pox, Arthur invited him for a sleepover at his house over the weekend.

Arthur's father had brought out a thick, comfy mattress that Arthur and Yao could sleep on. Arthur's bed was big enough for just one child to sleep on, so Yao couldn't fit in there.

After Arthur's mother had laid the mattress out on the floor and laid a bed sheet over it so that it was more comfortable for the children to sleep on, Arthur leapt excitedly onto the mattress. It was the springy type, so Arthur bounced on it for a while. Yao, on the other hand, gently sat himself down onto the mattress. Arthur's mother then gave Arthur and Yao two fluffy pillows and a huge blanket to share, and said good night to them, reminding them not to sleep too late.

"Okay!" Arthur chirped, while Yao gave a simple nod.

Arthur's mother switched on Arthur's nightlight and switched off the room lights. She stepped out and quietly closed the door behind her.

Through the dim light of his room, Arthur stole a peek at Yao. Yao was already making himself comfortable on his side of the mattress.

Arthur grinned, and let his head fall onto his pillow. He turned to face Yao. "I'm glad you agreed to come."

Yao smiled. He reached out to take Arthur's hand in his. "Of course. You're my best friend, aru."

Arthur and Yao spent the rest of the next hour talking until they were tired. Yao drifted off first, but Arthur stayed awake for a while longer.

As soon as Yao was asleep, however, he unconsciously edged closer and closer to Arthur, until he was hugging Arthur desperately, almost as if he were clinging on for dear life. Initially, Arthur wanted to gently extricate himself from the Asian boy's grasp, but he realised that it was just a habit of Yao's to hug something when he slept, and since he was not in the comfort of his own bed and didn't have anything to cling on to, Arthur was the next best thing. Besides, it wasn't like Yao hugging him was uncomfortable.

Soon, Arthur was fast asleep too, with a hand draped somewhat protectively over Yao's body.


	2. Becoming your friend was my choice

_**Becoming your friend was my choice**_

Days turned into months, and months into years. Throughout it all, Arthur and Yao remained best of friends. It was remarkable how a fallen football and a game of football could seal a friendship.

Soon, Arthur and Yao found themselves entering elementary school. Since they lived in a small town, all the kids went to the same school. So, it was not surprising that Arthur and Yao's parents sent them to the same school.

Arthur and Yao weren't in the same class, but they often spent their breaks sitting together, discussing the latest comic books or playing with their handheld video games. Occasionally, when the other boys invited them to play a game of catch or something, they would join in the fun.

Their routine was broken, however, when one day, in second grade, another boy transferred to their school. His name was Kiku, and his father had just been relocated by his company to head their branch in the town that Arthur and Yao lived in. Naturally, his whole family moved with him. And that was how the stoic Japanese student came to attend the school.

Yao immediately felt drawn towards the Japanese student. Perhaps it was due to their Asian heritage. Or perhaps Kiku was simply too quiet, and seemed to need a friend. But Yao was quick to befriend him.

And Arthur, being Yao's best friend, was dragged along even if he didn't quite like the new Japanese kid at first.

Kiku was even in the same grade that Arthur and Yao was. He was in Arthur's class, so Arthur had reluctantly taken on the duty of helping Kiku get used to life in the school.

* * *

"Aren't you at least a bit curious?"

Kiku looked apprehensively at Yao, who shrugged.

Arthur was still looking at the two Asian boys questioningly.

"Personally, I think it's a load of crap and that someone's staging it, aru," huffed Yao. There was a rumour going around the school that the school hall was haunted. Apparently, a group of girls saw a hand mysteriously appear from the stage area.

Needless to say, the rumour spread like wildfire, and it soon reached Arthur, Kiku and Yao's ears. Arthur, being the curious boy he was, wanted to investigate it. Yao, being the sceptic, didn't quite believe it. And Kiku… well, Kiku was scared shitless.

"Well, if you think it's crap, we should check it out!" said Arthur excitedly. "You've got nothing to lose, right?"

"Yes… but…"

"Excellent!"

So that day, after school, Arthur, Kiku and Yao headed to the school hall. When they stepped foot in the hall, neither of them knew what to do.

"I think we should have had a plan," whispered Arthur to Yao.

"You're the mastermind behind this, aru!" hissed Yao. "You wanted to come here!"

Arthur shot Yao an apologetic look.

"Hey, hey," Kiku stammered, shaking Arthur on the shoulder. "Look." He pointed at the stage, where an image was starting to materialise on the wall.

Sure enough, a freaky-looking blue hand appeared on the wall.

"I told you it was staged!" exclaimed Yao. "It looks so fake!"

"So who's the culprit behind it?" questioned Arthur as he made his way towards the image on the wall.

Now that they had established that it was not a ghost, Kiku felt more confident. He followed Arthur.

Arthur stood in front of the hand on the wall. His eyebrows furrowed as he thought. Then, he placed his hand on the image. The light that was projecting the image was coming from a slanted direction; it was coming from backstage.

Arthur signalled for Kiku to go backstage. Kiku was the quietest one out of them. And perhaps if they were silent enough, they may be able to surprise the perpetrator.

Kiku nodded and switched direction. Quietly, he headed backstage.

Everything was silent for a while, until a startled yell was heard. It didn't sound like Kiku, so it had to be the culprit behind the ghostly hand.

Arthur ran backstage to find Kiku hitting an albino boy two years their senior, Gilbert Beilschmidt, with a tiny stick he must have picked up along the way. There was a whole computer and projector set-up on the floor, which Gilbert must have used to project the picture of the hand on the wall.

Yao appeared behind Arthur. He looked on in amusement at the scene before them.

"Why are you displaying scary images on the stage wall?" demanded Arthur.

"Hey, stop hitting me!" Gilbert yelled at Kiku.

Kiku halted his actions and dropped the stick on the ground.

"Why are you displaying scary images on the stage wall?" repeated Arthur.

Gilbert turned to look at Arthur. "Don't know," he shrugged. "Thought it would be fun to scare people. Especially the girls."

"That's not very gentlemanly," commented Arthur.

"I'm not known for being gentlemanly," retorted Gilbert. "I have all this technology, and it's all going to waste! So I might as well use them for fun," he reasoned.

"You're such a creep," grumbled Kiku.

All three heads turned to look at Kiku in surprise. Kiku never said anything bad about anyone.

"What?" Kiku asked, shrugging as he eyed his friends strangely.

Yao smiled. "Nothing, aru. It's nothing."

* * *

"WHAT A PANSY!"

That remark was followed by laughter.

"Where's that girl? Let's shove his head into the toilet bowl!"

Yao brought his knees to his chest and hugged them, trying to drown the taunting voices out. He was in an old storeroom of the school, hiding from a group of bullies who was constantly teasing him for his long hair, his girly looks and his love for Hello Kitty.

Yao frowned, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. He couldn't help how he looked – he was born that way. His mother always told him he was a beautiful person. But she never told him he would be teased for looking so beautiful.

As for Yao's long hair, he liked it that way. The back of his neck was constantly cold, and his long hair kept it warm. He was comfortable that way.

And as for Hello Kitty, Yao didn't understand why it was girly to like a Japanese cute, mouth-less cat. Hello Kitty was cute! It was okay to like Superman, Ultraman and Power Rangers (which he found pointless – they were all so called heroes in spandex costumes who ended up saving the world – they all had the same plot anyway), but it was not okay to like Hello Kitty?

Angrily, Yao slammed his fist against the floor, where he was sitting on.

Tears began to fall from Yao's eyes. Yao's lower lip trembled, and he buried his face into his knees, sobbing.

Yao remained that way for hours. How many classes had he missed? Yao even heard the bell ring, signalling the end of the school day.

But Yao didn't budge.

About an hour later, Yao heard the door of the storeroom creak open.

"Yao?"

It was Arthur.

Yao didn't reply. He still had his face buried into his knees.

"School's over, and I didn't see you… hey, what's wrong?" Arthur asked, concerned, as he made his way towards the Asian boy huddled in the corner.

"Go away, aru!"

Arthur stopped mid-way. He had his hand reached out to grasp Yao's shoulder. But Yao's voice sounded… choked. It was as if… "Have you been… crying?"

"I said, go away!"

"No," said Arthur firmly. "Something's obviously wrong, and I'm not going away because you need me."

Yao's head shot up, and he glared at Arthur with his red-rimmed eyes. "It's none of your business!"

Arthur smiled gently. He knelt down beside Yao and wrapped his arms around the small Asian boy. "Of course it's my business," he murmured. "You're my best friend – when you are sad, I am sad too."

Yao gazed at Arthur, who had his head rested on Yao's shoulder. He closed his eyes briefly and sighed. Yao knew Arthur – he wouldn't leave until Yao told him what was wrong. So Yao opened his mouth and told Arthur about the bullying he was experiencing.

Arthur listened intently.

After Yao was done, Arthur's hand shaped itself into a fist. "Mark my words – from tomorrow onwards, they will not lay a hand on you," Arthur said fiercely. "They're idiots anyway."

Yao sniffed. "How are you going to get them to stop bullying me?"

Arthur winked and flashed Yao a grin. "I have my ways. I'm very charming, you know."

Yao laughed a watery laugh and punched Arthur lightly on the shoulder.

"Come on – let's go home," said Arthur. He stood up, dusted his uniform down and held out his hand towards Yao. "We can each get ice-creams on the way home – my treat."

Yao took Arthur's hand and hauled himself up. "Arthur Kirkland, you sure know how to make a boy feel better, aru."

"I'm a boy too, aren't I?"

* * *

The next day, the bullies approached Yao and apologised for bullying Yao. They had bruises on their faces; it looked like someone had beaten them up.

Yao was shocked at the turn of events.

Later in the day, Yao found out that Arthur had gotten into a fight with the bullies and trampled on them. Literally.

The teachers found out, naturally. And as a result of that, Arthur was punished to a week's detention.

Yao couldn't help but feel guilty. He was the cause of Arthur's punishment, after all.

So Yao waited for Arthur to finish detention every day for a week. Then, they walked home together.

"You didn't have to do that for me, you know," Yao said to Arthur one afternoon.

"I had to," the blonde replied. "They were making you miserable. I don't like seeing you miserable."

Yao's lips curved into a bashful smile. "Well, thanks, aru."

* * *

As the boys grew up, they learnt many things about themselves. What they liked, what they disliked, what absolutely annoyed them, what they aspired to become in the future…

One of the things they discovered was their sexuality.

Arthur knew from an early age that he was attracted to both girls and boys. He was bisexual. He discovered that in fifth grade. Arthur was rummaging through his brother's stuff and found his porn collection. Being inquisitive, he decided to take a look at it and found that he liked what he saw very much. That was how he found out that he liked girls. Later on, while he was changing in the showers after football (soccer) practice, a bunch of half-naked guys walked in, and Arthur found himself turned on by that sight. That was how he found out that he liked boys too.

As for Yao, he realised that he was gay sometime in seventh grade, when he started falling for Kiku. Girls, on the other hand, did nothing for him. Coming out to his parents was rather stressful on Yao – he didn't know how he should do it or how they would react. But when he eventually did it, his parents were nothing but supporting. For that, Yao was thankful.

Yao confided in Arthur about his crush on Kiku and how he had fallen for Kiku. He had gushed about how amazing Kiku was.

Arthur offered Yao no advice, but merely an ear to listen.

Arthur went home sobbing that day.

That was how Arthur found out that he was truly, madly and deeply in love with Yao.

* * *

A few weeks later, Arthur gathered his courage and confronted Kiku about his feelings for Yao. He had to know if Kiku returned Yao's affections.

Kiku said Yao was a very good friend and that he loved Yao, but like a brother. Besides, Kiku was heterosexual, and had a huge infatuation with a girl named Mei, who was one year their junior.

That made Arthur feel a little bit better.

But Yao pursued Kiku throughout eighth grade, until Kiku sat him down and explained that he wasn't into other boys that way.

Embarrassed for misreading Kiku, Yao apologised and his advances towards Kiku stopped. Eventually, Yao stopped crushing on Kiku and they went back to being good friends.

* * *

One thing Yao learned from an early age was how to ice-skate. Every winter, his parents would take him to the lake when it froze up so that he could frolic and skate. His father was the one who taught him to ice-skate. When Yao got older, he would go there on his own.

Yao was determined to teach Arthur how to ice-skate, so that they could enjoy the sport together.

As Arthur slipped on the ice and fell again, Yao giggled.

"It's not funny!"

Yao smirked, but helped Arthur up anyway. "You know, in ice-skating rinks, when little kids are learning to skate, they have these cute penguin-shaped thingies for them to hold on to and skate with so that they don't fall. We need to get you one of those, aru!"

"You probably need to get me an extra-large one," Arthur deadpanned.

"Oh, I can just imagine it!" chided Yao. "Arthur Kirkland skating with a giant penguin!"

Arthur snorted at how ridiculous the idea sounded.

"Come on," Yao said, taking both of Arthur's hands into his own. "Let's just skate around the lake."

Arthur squeezed Yao's hand. "Don't let go, okay?"

Yao smiled gently. "I won't, aru."

* * *

For his sixteenth birthday, Arthur received a rare stone from Yao. The stone basically completed the set he had been collecting since he was nine years old.

"Wow, where did you get this?!"

Yao shrugged nonchalantly. "Scouted the internet for it. Entered an auction and won."

"Wow. I mean, WOW! It must have cost a lot!"

The Asian boy blushed. "It's not that big a deal, aru."

"Not that big a deal? NOT THAT BIG A DEAL?!" yelled Arthur. "It's the RAREST stone! I've been looking for it for six years!"

"So it is a big deal for you…" Yao mumbled.

"THIS IS THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!" Arthur threw his arms around Yao, squeezing him tightly.

Yao smiled weakly. Arthur's enthusiastic embrace was pressing the air out of him.

* * *

Arthur decided to ask Yao to the prom at the end of their senior year. Much to Arthur's surprise, Yao agreed.

"No one would be interested in me anyway, so I might as well go with my best friend, right?" Yao had said jokingly.

At that moment, Arthur wanted to kiss Yao senseless and tell him that he was beautiful, and that EVERYONE in their right mind would be interested in him. But Arthur didn't. Instead, he engulfed Yao in a hug.

"But are you sure you want to go to the prom with me?" Yao asked Arthur, his lips curled downwards into a frown. "Wouldn't you rather take a cute girl like, say… perhaps, Elizaveta, aru?" Elizaveta was Arthur's lab partner in Chemistry, and they shared quite a few interests. It wasn't surprising if Arthur went to the prom with Elizaveta.

"No," replied Arthur. "Besides, Elizaveta already has a date."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Roderich asked her the first thing when they announced the date for prom. She said 'yes'."

"Well," Yao grinned at Arthur. "If you're sure you want to be teased for bringing a boy to prom…" Yao briefly remembered the time when he was younger and being teased for looking so girly.

"If they want to tease me, let them," replied Arthur. "I don't care."

Yao smiled affectionately at Arthur and brushed a locked of Arthur's hair that had fallen in front of his face back. "This is something I like about you, aru."

"What?"

"That you're your own individual. You don't care about what people think about you."

"That's right!" Arthur exclaimed. "Who cares what other people think? Nothing matters as long as I'm happy."

* * *

Prom came and went, and soon, Arthur and Yao found themselves applying for university.

Yao wanted to go to a prestigious university in the city of another state. He had even gotten accepted into the university to study art, and would be moving out of home to live on-campus.

Arthur, on the other hand, was quite undecided when it was time for university applications. Eventually, though, he decided to follow Yao and apply to the university in the city. He got accepted to study finance, and would also be moving out of home to live on-campus.

Secretly, Yao was glad that his best friend would be going to the university with him. He didn't know anyone, and he knew how daunting it would be moving to the city and starting university, so to have at least one friendly face there with him would be a blessing.

Arthur and Yao bade goodbye to their family at the train station.

As they boarded the train, Arthur turned to look at Yao. "Nervous?"

Yao glanced at Arthur apologetically. "A little. Is it showing, aru?"

"Nah," Arthur replied, shaking his head. "I just know you THAT well."

Yao laughed.

"Don't be. You'll be fine – you're brilliant."


	3. But falling in love with you I had no

_**But falling in love with you I had no control over**_

It was during an inter-faculty sports match that Yao discovered that he had fallen for Arthur. The arts faculty was playing football (soccer) against the business faculty.

Arthur was on the team for the business faculty.

Yao was not playing, but was in the stands to support his faculty. He was seated next to a Spanish classmate from his graphic design class, Antonio Carriedo.

Arthur caught Yao in the stands, watching, and he waved at him excitedly. Yao waved back happily, but felt his heart race. Initially, Yao brushed it off, accounting it for nerves prior to the match.

But as the match went on, Yao found himself focusing more and more on Arthur. The other players were a blur to him. But Arthur, as he ran back and forth, was the clearest thing in Yao's eyes.

The arts faculty and the business faculty were rather evenly matched in terms of skill.

Arthur was the striker for the business faculty team. Whenever he scored a goal, Yao's heart leapt in joy at seeing the exhilarant look on Arthur's face. Arthur's highs were Yao's highs, and Arthur's lows were Yao's lows. Slowly but surely, Yao was switching sides – he was beginning to support the business faculty team even though he was in the arts faculty.

The result was a tie, and since it was just a friendly match, the players didn't press for a tie-breaker.

After the match, Arthur didn't follow his teammates to the showers. Instead, he remained on the field, sitting on the ground with a contemplative expression on his face.

Yao waved goodbye to his Spanish classmate, who was on his way to a club with his Belgian girlfriend. Then, Yao made his way down to the football field to join Arthur.

Yao approached the solitary figure in the field. "Hey," he greeted.

Arthur immediately turned around. "Oh, it's you."

"What are you doing?"

Arthur chuckled, and patted the ground next to him.

Yao took that as his cue to sit down next to Arthur. So he plopped down on the ground next to Arthur.

"Were you disappointed with the match?" Yao asked Arthur.

"Huh? Why would I be?" Arthur questioned, looking at Yao with wide eyes. "I had a lot of fun!"

"Then why are you sitting here while the rest of your teammates are off…" Yao looked around for the other football players. "I-don't-really-know-where?"

"Oh," Arthur said. "I'm just really tired. I stayed up all last night to complete an assignment, and I really gave it my all during the match today."

"Why don't you go back to the dorm and go to bed then, aru?"

Arthur looked at Yao and grinned sheepishly. "I can't get up to walk," he admitted.

"I can try and-"

"Don't," Arthur interrupted Yao. "I'm bigger and heavier than you are. You would break your back if you carried me."

"So what do you want to do now?"

"Take a nap, I reckon?" Arthur shrugged. "Stay with me?"

Yao snickered and ruffled Arthur's already messy hair. "You know I would."

"Thanks," said Arthur. He adjusted his body and lied down, resting his head on Yao's lap. Moments later, he was out like a light.

Yao observed the surroundings. They were now the only two occupants of the football field. The football players and spectators of the match had left.

Yao shifted his attention to Arthur's sleeping face. He brushed Arthur's fringe out of his face, and gazed at Arthur tenderly. Arthur was absolutely handsome dressed in the football jersey and pants adorning his faculty colours.

Considering Arthur had not slept since the previous day, Yao figured that he would probably be sitting there in the football field for quite a while. He adjusted his body to a more comfortable position, careful not to rouse the Englishman.

Then, lightly, Yao pressed a kiss to Arthur's forehead. "Tell me, Arthur Kirkland," he whispered. "Am I falling for you?"

* * *

Yao was sulking on the park bench in front of the campus centre. He had gotten into an argument with a junior he was tutoring regarding the grade she had received. She wanted a higher grade and was thinking of asking her professor for one, but Yao didn't think she deserved one. The argument escalated from her wanting a higher grade to her accusing Yao of being selfish.

Yao knew he shouldn't take what the student had said to heart – she was angry and was being unreasonable, and didn't know what she was saying, and anyway, he didn't have any say on whether or not the professor would give her a higher grade. It was her professor's discretion to do so. Yao was just stating his opinion. But nevertheless, the junior's words still hurt.

"_Hey I've been watching you, every little thing you do, every time I see you pass, in my homeroom class, makes my heart beat fast…_" a gentle voice began singing softly in Yao's ear.

"Arthur…" Yao groaned, covering his face in his hands. "I'm not in the mood, aru!"

But Arthur continued singing. He circled around the bench Yao was seated on, so that he was facing Yao. "_I've tried to page you twice, but I see you roll your eyes, wish I could make it real, but your lips are sealed, that ain't no big deal._"

"Arthur," Yao repeated. His hands were still on his face.

Then, for some reason, Arthur jumped straight to the chorus of the song. "_I think you're fine, you really blow my mind, maybe someday, you and me can run away, I just want you to know, I wanna be your Romeo, hey Juliet…_"

Arthur knelt down in front of Yao and gently pried Yao's hands away from his face. He stopped singing and gazed up into Yao's eyes. "What's wrong?" he inquired.

Yao shook his head. "It's nothing," he replied. "My student argued with me, and she said some hurtful things."

"Like?"

"I don't want to talk about it, aru."

Arthur regarded Yao disapprovingly.

"But your singing did make me feel better," Yao told Arthur. "Thanks."

"Whatever it is she said, it's not true." Arthur moved to seat himself beside Yao on the bench.

Yao snickered half-heartedly. "How do you know that?"

"Because you're perfect the way you are – there's nothing wrong with you. If you were any different, you wouldn't be Yao."

Yao turned pink. His heart started thumping loudly in his chest. Yao prayed that Arthur couldn't hear it. "Oh, um… thanks?"

"You're in a better mood now – that's good," Arthur beamed at Yao. He draped his arm around Yao's shoulder. "Let's go get something to eat!"

Yao's heart was still hammering. "Yeah… okay. Let me just get my stuff."

* * *

Arthur and Yao were at a small party in the common room to celebrate Mathias Kohler's birthday. Mathias was studying medicine, but was dating Lukas Bondevik, who was Arthur's classmate, and by extension knew Yao as well. It was a small world after all.

Mathias was a popular student, and so there were people from different faculties mingling about the party. But the main bulk of the party was students from the medicine and science faculties.

Yao found himself talking to a touchy-feely Korean student, who was studying to become a scientist. His name was Yong Soo. He was quite loud and was always reaching out to touch Yao's chest, but apart from that, Yao found him entertaining.

Yong Soo was talking about Korean technology, and had whipped out his cell phone, which was a Samsung model (not the latest one, but enough to draw his point across). But Yao's thoughts somehow managed to drown out what Yong Soo was saying.

Yao took a sip of his beer as his eyes scanned the room. There were a few students dancing in the small makeshift dance floor in the centre of the room.

The birthday boy was trying to get his boyfriend to kiss him under an artificial mistletoe. Lukas was pushing Mathias away. Yao vaguely heard Lukas yell, "It's not Christmas, you idiot! Where did you get a mistletoe anyway?!"

Yao shook his head. Who knew such a prestigious university would have such crazy students attending it?

"Hey, Yong Soo?"

"Yeah?"

"I have to stop you there – I really need to go to the bathroom. Maybe we'll talk some other time, aru?"

"Sure thing, da-ze!" Yong Soo said happily. "I have your number – I'll call you or something!"

Yao nodded and said goodbye to Yong Soo. He then placed his cup on the counter and headed out to the bathroom.

On Yao's way out, he saw Arthur arguing with a French classmate of his, Francis Bonnefoy. They had a love-hate relationship with each other since the day they met in orientation. No one but Arthur and Francis could comprehend the rivalry they held against one another. And Yao… well, Yao had to endure Arthur's complaining whenever Arthur and Francis fought or argued.

Arthur saw Yao walk past. His expression softened and he waved cheerfully at Yao.

Yao felt his breath hitch when Arthur looked at him. It was the way Arthur looked at Yao – it was as if he was the only one in the room, and no one else mattered. Yao smiled and waved back, and Arthur turned back to his argument with Francis. Yao could feel his face getting hot. His breathing was getting quicker.

Yao walked hastily to the bathroom. It was a unisex bathroom, but it was common courtesy for the girls to occupy the stalls nearest to the entrance, while the guys occupied the stalls furthest from the entrance.

Yao made his way to the stall at the end of the bathroom, furthest away from the door. He entered, slammed the stall door shut and hurriedly locked it.

By then, Yao was panting fiercely. He leaned his back against the wall and rested his head against it.

Why was Arthur able to cause such a reaction from within Yao?

* * *

Arthur and Yao were lying on the ground on Arthur's balcony, watching the stars. Arthur had been fortunate to get a dorm room with a balcony – a senior he knew dropped out of university and they had made arrangements for Arthur to take over his room. So Yao spent a lot of time in Arthur's dorm room, as he enjoyed studying in the balcony.

Throughout the week, Arthur had been gathering his courage to confess to Yao how he truly felt about him. It had been far too long – his secretly pining for Yao. Arthur thought it was time Yao knew how he felt.

At first, when they were younger, Arthur was reluctant to tell Yao how he felt in fear of destroying their friendship. But now, Arthur felt that they had reached a point in their friendship whereby it didn't matter who was in love with whom. Friends who had been together for as long as Arthur and Yao had didn't simply leave each other because one of them was in love with the other.

"Yao?"

"Hm?" Yao had his eyes closed and was enjoying the gentle breeze in the air.

"Remember when we were younger and you had that huge crush on Kiku?"

Yao let out a bark of laughter. "Oh yeah. I was so lovestruck then – I acted like a complete idiot, aru! But it was only puppy love… I wasn't really in love with him." he mused.

"Yeah…" Arthur sat up. "Do you remember who was the first person you told?"

"Of course. I told you," replied Yao. He still hadn't moved from his position on the floor. "Because you're my best friend, and best friends tell each other everything!"

Arthur stared at Yao. _Best friends tell each other everything. _Now, he felt guilty for keeping his feelings to himself for so long. "You want to know what happened after you told me?"

"Huh?" Yao opened an eye. He wasn't sure where this conversation was going.

"I went home and cried my eyes out," replied Arthur softly. "I couldn't stand the thought of you crushing on someone who wasn't me. I didn't come out of my room that day – my parents and brothers couldn't even get me to come out for dinner."

Yao had finally opened both his eyes and was watching Arthur with a strange expression on his face.

Arthur took a deep breath in and continued. "That was when I realised I was in love with you."

Yao stared at Arthur in silence. Was Arthur implying what he thought he was implying?

"As the years went by, my feelings didn't diminish. They got stronger. To a point that even if you didn't love me back, I would still love you."

Arthur and Yao stared at one another. No one said anything for a moment. The silence between them was deafening. Then, Yao moved to a sitting position so that he was directly in front of Arthur. Yao leaned forward and closed his eyes, kissing Arthur on the lips.

To say that Arthur wasn't shocked was a total and utter lie. He had never allowed himself to fantasise about kissing Yao even though he had been in love with Yao for so long, because Arthur knew that once he started, he wouldn't be able to stop. Never in his wildest dreams did Arthur expect that Yao would willingly place his lips on his. Now that Yao was kissing him, Arthur was glad that he had withheld that fantasy from himself – it would never have measured to the real thing – Yao's kiss was heavenly.

When Yao pulled back from Arthur, he looked at Arthur shyly, with the tinge of a blush colouring his cheeks.

Arthur's jaw dropped open and he reached to touch his lips. They tingled where Yao's lips had touched them. "Does this… what does-"

"I love you too, aru," said Yao with an affectionate smile. "I think I always have, from the moment you befriended me, I just didn't know it."

"There was never anyone else for me; it was always you," said Arthur. He drew nearer to Yao's face, until their foreheads were touching. "So does this mean we're dating now?"

Yao nodded. He could feel himself tearing up. He sniffed. "I would like to think so," Yao replied.

The tear then fell from Yao's eye.

"Hey, don't cry," Arthur murmured. He brushed away the tear with his thumb. "Isn't this a happy thing?"

Yao was half-sobbing and half-laughing. "These are tears of joy, Arthur!"

As Yao brushed his palm against Arthur's cheek, Arthur leaned into the touch. Arthur brought their bodies closer, closing the gap between them. There was something different about how their bodies fit together this time; it was as if they just fit – like two halves of a whole. It was as if Arthur and Yao completed each other.

Arthur decided that he liked that feeling. "Can I kiss you again?"

Yao's cheeks turned even redder. But he continued gazing lovingly into Arthur's eyes. "You should already know the answer, aru."

Arthur laughed and he leaned forward to capture Yao's lips in a kiss more intense than the last one. He revelled in the little noises Yao made in the back of his throat as he kissed him and the way Yao drew nearer to his mouth, as if chasing him and demanding for more when he pulled away a few centimetres. Yao was so cute.

"I love you."

Arthur was so drunk in bliss, he didn't know which of them uttered that "I love you." But he decided that it didn't matter.

* * *

The music association in the university organised concerts regularly. Sometimes, they did it to raise funds to fund their activities. But most of the time, they just wanted to entertain.

Yao was in the music association, and was playing the _er hu_ in a concert. It was not a common instrument, which was why when he played, a huge turn-out could be expected. It helped that Yao had the gift of playing a happy tune on the instrument, when it was usually reserved for playing more melancholic tunes. He usually did renditions of more modern songs on the ancient instrument.

After the concert, Arthur made his way backstage, carrying a bouquet of peonies for Yao behind his back. He told Yao that he would meet him after the concert, but didn't specify where.

Arthur looked around. There were many musicians there. Most of them were from the arts faculty, and Arthur could tell that by the way they stood and talked. The arts students would be standing together in bigger groups and talking, while those from other faculties either observed from a distance, or were part of smaller groups.

Then, Arthur caught sight of Yao, who was seated in a corner and was alone. He was polishing his _er hu_ before keeping it in its case.

Arthur skipped over to where Yao was. He stopped in front of Yao. "Hello!" he greeted cheerfully.

Yao looked up, and smiled warmly when he saw that his boyfriend had come to meet him. "Hi," he replied. "Just let me finish this bit, aru."

Arthur nodded. The bouquet of flowers was still safely hidden behind his back.

Yao wiped off the polish and placed his _er hu_ in its case. He then shut and locked the case, and stood up with the handle of the case in his hand. "Shall we?"

"You don't want to stay and talk to your classmates?" inquired Arthur.

"That's okay – I'll see them in class anyway," Yao replied.

Arthur shrugged. At that moment, he pulled out the bouquet of peonies he had been hiding behind his back. "Here," he said, presenting the bouquet to Yao. "These are for you."

Yao's eyes widened. "These are… these are beautiful!" he cried, taking the bouquet in his free hand. "Thanks! But what are they for?"

Arthur shrugged again. "Just wanted to give you flowers," he said. "The concert is a pretty darn good excuse."

Yao chuckled. "You are so sweet, Arthur Kirkland," he said, and kissed Arthur's nose.

Arthur turned pink.

"Since you gave me these flowers, I guess I now have a reason to give you something in return. Hold this for a moment, will you?" said Yao, handing Arthur his _er hu_ case. Arthur took it wordlessly.

Yao unzipped a compartment of the case, and took out a piece of paper. He handed the paper to Arthur, and then took back his _er hu_ case.

Arthur flipped the paper over, and gasped. It was a portrait of Arthur, hand-drawn by Yao with charcoal. It was practically life-like.

Yao was looking bashfully at his shoes. "I have been sketching you during my free time… I know it's not very good-"

"Not very good?!" Arthur gawked at Yao incredulously. "Bollocks! It's fantastic!"

Yao looked up at Arthur. He had an elated expression on his face. "Really? You think so, aru?"

"Of course! It looks like a photograph! Minus the dirt marks and all that…" Arthur was still admiring Yao's drawing. "I'm going to frame it and hang it up in my room! Not that I'm being egotistical about my looks or anything… it's just that it's a good piece of art," he added hastily as an afterthought.

"I… I'm glad you like it," Yao said, smiling.

Arthur grinned, and draped an arm over Yao's shoulder, leading him out. "Yao, I like everything you do."

Yao blushed brightly.

* * *

The final exams were taking a toll on Yao. He was stressed, he was nervous, he was prone to snapping at people.

Arthur decided that Yao needed a break from studying. The weekend before the exams, he took Yao into the suburbs to enjoy a quiet day together, much to Yao's chagrin. To Yao, every moment not spent studying increased the likelihood of him failing.

But Arthur ignored Yao's protests. As they got out of the second-hand car (well, it wasn't really considered second-hand; it already had three previous owners before Arthur) Arthur had bought, Arthur finally spoke up. "You remember what I told you on the train before we came here?"

"You told me not to be nervous."

"Yes, I said you were brilliant. And still are," Arthur told Yao. "You'll do well. You'll pass with flying colours. We'll graduate together, and find an apartment in the city where we'll live together. You'll get a fantastic job as an art director. We'll adopt three kids and we'll live happily ever after."

Yao stared at Arthur. "You have our lives planned out?"

Arthur laughed. "No. Not really. I only said all that to shut you up." He wrapped an arm around Yao's shoulder. "But I'm serious about living together after we graduate."

"Mm…" Yao looked thoughtful. "I'd like that. I'd really like that."

Arthur grinned. "That's settled then – we'll look for an apartment together when we graduate!"

Yao chuckled. "You sound excited, aru."

"Of course!" exclaimed Arthur. "I get to wake up with you every morning, make you breakfast in bed-"

"Oh god, please don't make me breakfast…"

Arthur pouted. It was a known fact that Arthur couldn't cook. Whatever he attempted to cook ended up badly burnt and inedible. "Fine," he said. "I'll do something about it, but you're getting breakfast in bed once in a while."

"As long as you don't make it," joked Yao.

"Okay, okay, I get it!"

By then, Arthur and Yao had reached a grassy clearing. "Let's settle down here," said Arthur. He placed his bag on the ground and dug out a picnic mat, which he unrolled and laid flat on the ground.

Yao plopped himself down on the mat as Arthur took out the food and snacks from the plastic bag he had been carrying. Yao lied down on his back and observed the sky. "So what do you have planned for us today, aru?"

"Nothing," Arthur replied, reaching for a boxed orange juice for himself. "I just wanted you to relax and not think about exams."

"Hmm…" Yao looked at Arthur with a bemused expression. "Doesn't help that you're mentioning it."

"Oh! Right!" Arthur exclaimed, covering his mouth with both of his hands. "I won't bring it up anymore!"

Yao yawned. "I'm a little tired… do you mind if I take a short nap?"

"Go ahead."

"Wake me up in fifteen minutes?"

"Alright."

As Yao slept, Arthur settled himself on the picnic mat, lying down on his stomach. He rested his head on his elbow and gazed affectionately at Yao. Arthur reached out to take a small lock of Yao's hair in his hands, twirling it between his fingers.

Arthur remained that way for the next fifteen minutes. He would have allowed Yao to sleep for longer, seeing as Yao seemed so peaceful just lying there, but Arthur had promised Yao to wake him up in fifteen minutes, and Arthur was not about to break a promise he made to Yao.

Arthur leaned forward and kissed Yao's mouth.

Yao's eyes shot open, but he returned the kiss.

When they broke apart, Yao was looking at Arthur in amusement. "When I said 'wake me up', I didn't mean 'wake me up like how you would Sleeping Beauty', aru."

Arthur cocked his head. "But you ARE a Sleeping Beauty," he pointed out.

Yao immediately turned red. "NO, I'M NOT!" he retorted.

"Are too," said Arthur smugly.

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Am-"

Yao was interrupted when Arthur pounced on top of Yao, tickling him mercilessly. Yao erupted into laughter, squirming and struggling to buck his boyfriend off as Arthur attacked all his sensitive areas. They had been friends for far too long, and Arthur, no doubt, knew all of Yao's ticklish spots.

Eventually, Arthur stopped tickling Yao. He looked at the Asian man, who was panting in exertion below him. Nevertheless, Yao's eyes were filled with mirth.

"You ARE beautiful," Arthur murmured, nuzzling his face into Yao's neck. "Don't ever deny it."

"But-" Yao tried to protest.

Arthur silenced Yao by pressing his lips onto Yao's once again.

* * *

True to Arthur's prediction, Yao passed the final exams with flying colours. He even managed to graduate with first-class honours, much to his delight.

Arthur also passed his final exams. Being naturally bright, he also graduated with first-class honours, but with less effort on his part.

After graduation, Arthur and Yao managed to rent an apartment. They moved in together and started a domestic life together.

Arthur got a job as a financial analyst soon after graduation. Because of his excellent university results and his good resume, the banking corporations were all vying for Arthur to work in their companies as soon as he stepped out of university.

Yao, on the other hand, took a little while to find a job that suited him. Eventually, though, he found a job as an animator in an animation company.

After three years, Arthur decided to ask Yao a very important question…

Arthur and Yao were both having dinner in their apartment.

"Yao? Sweetheart?"

Yao was in the midst of transferring some food into the bowl that their cats, Hei and Patches, shared. Yao had suggested getting pets as practice for when the time came that they decided to adopt a child. He knew that rearing a pet and taking care of child would be very different, but it was also nice to have some company around in the apartment. "Hm?" When he was done, Yao put the cats' food bowl on the ground. Immediately, Hei and Patches came forward and started gobbling the food down.

"How long have we known each other?"

"Huh?" Yao was confused at the sudden change of the tone of Arthur's voice. He was talking animatedly earlier on, and now he was dead serious. "I don't know… maybe twenty years, aru?"

"Exactly," Arthur replied. "We've known each other for so long – we grew up together, we've been through so many ups and downs…"

Yao nodded.

"We've gone from being best friends to being lovers, and I can say that falling in love with you was and still is the best thing that ever happened to me."

Yao smiled lovingly and reached forward to take Arthur hand in his. "You know that I feel the same way about you, right?"

"Right…" Arthur eyed Yao nervously. "I'm just going to come right out and say it… I know we can't do this legally – we can't sign official documents and all that, but will you marry me? Instead of having a wedding reception, we can have a small gathering of our friends…" Arthur was aware that he had begun to babble, but he couldn't help it! He babbled when he was nervous.

Yao was stunned. His dinner utensils dropped down onto the table, and he gaped at Arthur.

"I mean, I understand if you need time to think about it…"

Yao cleared his throat. "Yes," he said.

"Yeah… I thought so," Arthur said sullenly. He averted his eyes from Yao. "Take all the time you need… just know-"

Yao chuckled, and he squeezed Arthur hand in his. "Arthur, what are you on about? I said I'd marry you."

"Huh?" Arthur quickly directed his eyes towards Yao. "The 'yes' was not that you needed time to think?"

Yao was laughing heartily by then. "No, you idiot!" he exclaimed. "You are so cute when you are clueless!" Yao took Arthur's hand and kissed it gently. Then, Yao uttered the words Arthur had been dying to hear for as long as he could remember. "Yes, I'll marry you, aru."

Arthur couldn't believe his ears. In one swift movement, he got up from his seat and strode over to where Yao was seated. Arthur engulfed Yap in a tight embrace. "You make me the happiest man in the world," he said into Yao's ear. "I'm sorry I don't have a ring right now, but we'll get you the most beautiful one out there when we're able to."

Yao blushed. He encircled his arms around Arthur's torso awkwardly (Arthur hugging him so tightly was making it hard to move). "I love you," Yao told Arthur lovingly.

Arthur sighed happily. He felt like he could remain like that, clinging on to Yao, forever. He was going to marry his best friend, and nothing was better than that. "My fiancé," murmured Arthur. "My love."


End file.
